Jack E. Hopkins: Community Banks Are Leaders in Times of Crisis

When faced with a crisis, community banks step up. Our communities rally around us, because as their pillars, community bank leaders take the initiative to oversee recovery efforts. In many cases, we become the disaster recovery center for those in need. 

For instance, think back to COVID. Community banks were the lifeblood of small businesses in that uncertain time. I know that my bank asked a lot from our employees. We had people coming in on shifts working around the clock, because sometimes the SBA systems were easier to access at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. We were all in it together, from senior leadership to frontline staff. But the amazing thing was that none of us felt obligated to do it; we all just wanted to help our customers. That’s the true heart of a community banker: giving back to our neighbors.

This month’s feature story on the California wildfires demonstrates that community bank spirit in spades. When wildfires raged and communities needed support, community banks answered the call, both in the moment and in the aftermath. 

In my community, we’ve been fortunate not to have experienced that scale of crisis, but when neighboring communities in Rock Valley, Iowa, were ravaged by storms and river flooding, it was their community bankers who were instrumental in becoming the command center for recovery efforts and raising money to rebuild. 

This drive to help our communities extends beyond times of crisis. At our cores, community bankers are community servants. Whether it’s charitable giving to local nonprofits, engagement in community fundraisers or steps we take within our banks, we are centered on supporting those around us. 

Case in point: Our employees pitched me to introduce a program where they pay to wear jeans on Fridays. Staff collect money so they can wear jeans, with all donations going to a local nonprofit. A team overseeing the program decides which nonprofit benefits each month, and all I had to do was approve jeans on Fridays. It was a no-brainer, and it is an honor to call out our employees for their generosity. 

But that’s simply who community bankers are. If we see hardships in the community, if we see something going wrong, we immediately jump to action. Our dedication to our communities is not lip service; it’s a fundamental driver of who we are as community bankers. I, for one, am honored to call myself a community banker because of it.